468027_rubix_cube_solved.jpgWhat may work well for Andrew Pavelski when it comes to blogging may not work out great for you. A comment by Dale yesterday in How To Increase Your Blogging Speed inspired this post. Dale said: “Andrew, it really would be nice to hear more about what works for you.” Thanks for your interest Dale ;) Within this post, I’ve discussed what works best for me, how I think about blogging, and what my ideal blogging scenario would be.

I’ve got millions of ideas for future blog postings

Millions of ideas may be a slight overexageration, but I always have plenty of ideas to write about. Whether I’m inspired by other blogs, my readers, or something I feel that you should be aware of, I write it on a notepad and usually blog about it. I currently have several series of articles planned out and tons of other great articles outlined. I never have written a bunch of posts to have in reserve incase I’d get sick or think of another blogging excuse. After being around the blogosphere for awhile, my mind is geared towards identifying and choosing new topics to write about. Reading other blogs is definitely a great way to think of ideas for your blog. I never copy articles written on other blogs, but I do read them for inspiration. Other blogs may leave out important information about a certain topic or may have forgotten to cover an important aspect. After being around the blogosphere and forcing myself to write new stuff each day, I easily can think of something on the spur of the moment. I do plan ahead when writing articles, but if something pops into my head during the day, I usually choose that topic over the one I had planned. A perfect example is my article: 25 Traits Of Successful Bloggers. I thought of the idea a couple minutes before loging into WordPress and the information just poored out. If I have a “spur of the moment” idea, I always use if for writing material because it’s fresh in my mind and easy to focus on. If I’d skip the idea that popped into my head and put it off for a month or so, I may completely forget what I intended to blog about even if I did make a great outline! I always recommend jumping on “spur-of-the-moment” ideas: they make things easier and blogging time fly by.

I force myself to post: no matter what

For about the past month or so, I’ve posted everyday. I made a commitment to blog for 30 days straight and to post everyday within that 30 day period. I haven’t been counting what day I’m currently on, but I like the fact that I’ve been able to keep myself disciplined and write a new quality post daily. I have ran into a few days where posting a new blog entry felt like a chore, but for the most part, each post flew by and I’ve enjoyed blogging daily. Blogging daily keeps up my writing skills and ability to keep my momentum. Once I get out of a good rhythm, it’s much harder to start back up from no momentum. Posting everyday can be very difficult for some and very easy for others - it depends on the person, how much free time they’ve got, etc. What it comes down to is making a commitment: if you can keep yourself disciplined and have a “blog or die” type mentality, you’ll probably have much better results over the long run. The long-run is the name of the game in the blogosphere: if you can post consistently and stick around everyday for at least 1 year, you’ll probably be very successful. Though some blogs have done a great job and have grown rapidly (i.e. The Rating Blog), most bloggers give up after awhile if they aren’t seeing results. What’s key is forcing yourself to keep a consistent posting frequency even when you aren’t getting much traffic or many comments.

Staying focused (quick thinking)

When I can think quickly and get “into the zone,” I can really write great posts in a relatively short period of time. I always force myself to improve my blogging productivity by writing concentrated articles. I’ve noticed that on days when I don’t get enough sleep, have been inactive, feel sick, or haven’t been taking great care of myself, my thinking is suboptimal. Thinking clearly plays a huge role in blog posting for me. When I’m mentally foggy and don’t get enough sleep, it takes my brain longer to kick in and therefore, longer to write a great post. It is much more difficult to stay focused and think quickly about what to write when I feel groggy, tired, or unhealthy. Things that help me stay “on track” while writing include: turning off the T.V., avoiding music, avoiding company, and common sense stuff. While I do sacrifice music, T.V., and talking to others during my blogging time, I actually have more time the rest of the day to focus on those activities. Flipping channels, writing a paragraph, watching some college hoops, writing a few more sentences, and listening to the game, I cannot focus and less gets done in a longer period of time. Time management is important for bloggers, as well as eliminating stimuli that decreases focus on writing.

What is my current posting frequency

My current posting frequency is everyday, though I think it may change very soon. I haven’t been promoting this blog as much as I should be and currently have more than just Andrew Pavelski dot com as an online project. I have another blog that I really enjoy running and I have quickly built up a large reader base over at that blog with very little promotion. Though the primary goal of this blog isn’t to make money online, the blogging niche is much harder to compete in and be successful quickly in. I haven’t linked to my other projects on this blog because the niches are completley different: I don’t want my readers to have strong opinions about my other work and get them twisted with this website. I also prefer the higher level of anonymity over at my other blogs. When I do decide to change up my current posting frequency to focus more on other projects, I will notify my readers ;)

Ideally, what I’d like to focus more on includes:

I really think it would be a wise investment for me to focus more on my other blog because of my knowledge in that field and the great results I’ve had already. I have a relatively huge crowd built up, get visits on autopilot via SEO, social networking and have built up a lot of backlinks. I do really enjoy working on both projects though and especially enjoy the crowd of commenters that I’ve built up here - I love your feedback in the comments section ;)

The ideal situation for me

The ideal situation for my blogging would be to wake up early, dedicate a couple of hours per day to posting a new article, then have the rest of my day to enjoy other activities. I would also save a chunk of time for blog promotion and make promoting a daily ritual as well: without traffic, a blog is dead. I think that promotion should be balanced with content. Lately, I’ve been focusing a little bit too much on content and not enough on promotion: this needs to change. Too much of either content or promotion throws the other outta wack. It would be really nice for me to make a healthy salary from blogging, but it’s definitely not going to happen overnight. I view blogging as something that should be done as frequent as possible, and should be consistent over a long period of time.

What time of day currently works best for me?

I prefer to blog in the morning, but most mornings don’t happen to work out - I’m usually too sleepy. I usually am up late and am not able to force myself to consistently get out of bed early without getting rundown and getting proper sleep. I have been writing late night posts lately because most of my day has been filled with other work and commitments. I’d rather not blog at night, but I feel like I need to keep my blog afloat and online career moving forward by blogging late night.

Know what works best for you

It is important to understand that what make work extremely well for Andrew Pavelski, may not be as effective for you (and vice-versa). It is also important to know yourself and understand what time of day works best for posting and what posting frequency works best with your given routine. Everyone is different and for some, posting in the morning would be ideal, while others cannot seem to crawl out of bed and shake their sleepiness. You can find out what works best for you by experimenting with different times throughout the day: especially on weekends when work dies down. I would really like posting in the morning, but my schedule doesn’t easily allow it! Know your abilities, understand your strengths, and blog accordingly!

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